Retirement Industry People Moves

Kelly Benefits Names Katherine Vahdani Chief Technology Officer

Katherine Vahdani

Katherine Vahdani, the new chief technology officer of Kelly Benefits, leads the company’s 70-person technology team. She partners closely with Wes Mace, chief product officer, and Rasoul Motavalli, chief information security officer.

Vahdani brings more than 20 years of experience, including senior leadership roles at Genpact, LTI Infotech, Slalom Consulting and AnswerRocket.

Additionally, she has worked closely with organizations across the insurance, pharmaceutical, financial services and health care sectors—including several of the nation’s largest, publicly traded insurers and health care organizations—supporting initiatives such as building modern data foundations, transforming call-center operations, and deploying advanced artificial intelligence solutions.

IRIC Elects Suzanne Raffaele, Mikaylee O’Connor to Board

The Institutional Retirement Income Council elected Suzanne Raffaele and Mikaylee O’Connor to its board of directors.

Raffaele is co-founder and partner at the Retirement Leadership Forum, where she leads the firm’s retirement research initiatives. Her experience includes leadership roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in defined contribution investment product development, sales and consultant relations. She previously led the Corporate Executive Board’s Retirement Services Leadership Forum.

O’Connor is partner and head of the defined contribution practice at NEPC LLC, where she leads the firm’s DC strategy, research and client solutions. Her key initiatives span target-date funds, managed accounts, retirement income solutions and broader investment strategies to improve participant outcomes. O’Connor previously held senior leadership roles at PGIM and RVK Inc.

Raffaele and O’Connor succeeded two outgoing IRIC board members who previously served as chair, Martha Tejera and Martin Schmidt.

Maryland Retirement Agency Hires Marlene Timberlake D’Adamo as EDGE Managing Director

Marlene Timberlake D’Adamo

The Maryland State Retirement Agency appointed Marlene Timberlake D’Adamo to the new role of managing director of EDGE [Emerging Managers, Durable Capital and Governance Excellence]. Timberlake D’Adamo began at MSRPS on April 29 and reports directly to CIO Dianne Sandoval.

Timberlake D’Adamo has more than two decades of experience operating in regulated environments and specializes in investments, financial operations, risk management, compliance and corporate governance. Previously, she served as chief compliance officer, interim chief financial officer and chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund.

Prior to joining CalPERS, Timberlake D’Adamo served as managing director, portfolio and risk management, at PNC Bank, where she had responsibility for a $160 billion investment platform across four independent business lines.

Licensed to practice law in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Timberlake D’Adamo received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Seton Hall University and a juris doctor degree from the Temple University Beasley School of Law.